Sunless Sea

Vojera

Have any of you played Sunless Sea? It's a big brother to the browser-based game Fallen London, and leaves Early Access this evening.

It looks interesting and is set in a gothic Victorian world where London is underground, and is based on sea exploration. It seems a bit rogue-like where you die lots of times but learn something with each playthrough.

I'm tempted to buy it now, as Early Access purchasers get all future DLC for free, but I'm also supposed to be cutting back my Steam spending until I clear more of my backlog. It's a dilemma!

BeerWolf

Looks interesting

humanji

I've been playing it. I can imagine a lot of people hating it as it's kind of odd and repetitive. The writing in it is very "love it or hate it", so that will put people off. Playing the free Fallen London browser game may be an idea for people interested in it. A lot of it makes no sense and there's not explanation. But as you play, it all starts to make sense (or at least you just make sense of it). It's probably best to just let the narrative wash over you and it'll all fit in as you go.

I think it's expensive for what it is. It's currently €17.99. For that, the main gameplay is kind of basic. You sail your ship around, docking in various ports to explore and/or fill your fuel and food, and combat is mostly just either waiting for a timer to fill up until you can fire, or running away as fast as you can. The exploring part is based on the Fallen London game, in that you're given text, choose an option and sometimes the result is depended on what skills you've earned so far.

There's a bit more to the game than that, but for €17.99 it's a bit much. If you really like the Fallen London writing, then you'll be impressed by a more immersive version of it.

Vojera

I ended up biting the bullet (I had money in my steam wallet from my birthday, so I didn't really spend anything :P) and I played for about two hours this evening.

I got into it pretty quickly, but I think having played Fallen London probably helped me to get into the swing of things faster. My first captain died within fifteen minutes, but the second lasted the rest of my play time. Earning money seems tricky enough, at least at the start, but I'm hoping as I learn more I'll find it easier.

So, I'm enjoying it so far and really looking forward to seeing more of it. I can see myself sinking a lot of hours into this. The one con is that my wife says it's not much fun to watch me play and she'd prefer if I went back to South Park.

Dair76

Vojera wrote: »

So, I'm enjoying it so far and really looking forward to seeing more of it. I can see myself sinking a lot of hours into this.)

:pac:

:pac:



...

It got a glowing review on Eurogamer (not that that stands for much), but it was enough to make me add it to my Steam wishlist.

Vojera

That pun was totally on purpose... Yes... :P

The_Valeyard

What's the craic with the story?

Alternative reality where the sun is gone or what am I missing?

humanji

Victorian London has been taken by bats down to hell. The how's and why's aren't answered and you're given the idea of an unreliable narrator, so you're never really sure what's happening. There's no overall story that I've seen so far. You kind of decide what everything means as you go through it.

The_Valeyard

humanji wrote: »

Victorian London has been taken by bats down to hell. The how's and why's aren't answered and you're given the idea of an unreliable narrator, so you're never really sure what's happening. There's no overall story that I've seen so far. You kind of decide what everything means as you go through it.

Ahh cheers, here the devil makes the odd appearance, interesting premise. I may dabble once I finish Far Cry 4 and Rogue for PC

pixelburp

It's a bit on the pricy side, but I picked it up and played about an hour's worth. The gameplay is rather simple, but I love the narrative and its spooky, enigmatic style. Feels oddly reminiscent of FTL only without the constant threat of annihilation by a fleet just behind you; also feels like one of those games where your enjoyment depends on how much you're willing to invest yourself in the world & the stories you

Vojera

I got dangerously close to losing my third captain last night. I had to start burning supplies to get back to London. I can't wait to get playing this evening.

pixelburp

Played a little more of this, and there's no doubt that if you don't read & enjoy the large volume of text narration, you'll get less out of this game. Floated about for a bit, just reading all the stories generated from visiting some ports and recluses, chatting to my crew. A simple game on the surface, but there's lots to enjoy below the surface (which feels kinda apt).

Vojera

I finally got myself 1000 echoes, bought myself a house, made a will and felt like everything was going fine. Until I realised that those echoes were supposed to be given to someone else in exchange for goods and I hadn't been paying attention, so my poor sea captain got a good murdering. Oops!

Vojera

Another few hours into this and I'm still enjoying it. I have rage-quit a few times and I always feel that I'm vastly underpowered compared to my enemies, so my current strategy is to turn off my lights when I see ships/monsters, take the hit on my crew's terror and try to avoid all but the weakest of adversaries.

I got my first Sunless Sea/Fallen London crossover moment and made it as far as Irem to investigate the FL locked box! And while on that side of the map I also got a glimpse of

sunshine!

The trick seems to be to push yourself to go as far as possible with each outing, visiting as many ports as you can and submitting the reports to the Admirality in exchange for money.

I spend so much on fuel and supplies that I don't see how I'll ever upgrade my ship, but there's always the hope that the next captain will be luckier.

Vojera

I finally upgraded my ship to the merchant cruiser, so I can now carry three times the amount of cargo. Of course, my upgraded engine and increased crew now mean I need more fuel and supplies than before, but it's easier to eke out a profit by taking coffee, sapphires, wine and even

sunlight[/spoilers] around the place.

I seem very lucky with my map. It randomises with each new captain and mine seems quite favourable compared to some I've seen online. I have a few possibilities for trade routes and some stops along the way where I can load up on cheap supplies/fuel.

The combat isn't great. Unless you're looking for specific item drops then it's often more profitable to just avoid enemies. Upgrading my ship to one with more weapon slots would probably make it easier, but at the moment I'd rather concentrate on building up my money.

The game allows you to choose one of several ambitions, which are your win conditions. I chose to become London's most venerated explorer and, honestly, I feel like achieving that is ages away, but I'm enjoying the journey.

Vojera

It's October and six months since I last posted I am finally victorious! Of course it wasn't six months of constant gameplay, but it took 35-40 hours with a single captain to collect everything I needed to fulfill my chosen ambition (to become London'd most venerated explorer, apparently the hardest of the three main ambitions, but I didn't know that when I chose it). I finished it on merciless mode (permadeath) and I'm proud of that achievement, but I also feel that the fear of death made me miss out on a lot of things because I was afraid of losing my captain so close to the finish line, so I won't play that mode again.

The learning curve is steep but once I had worked out a few trade routes it wasn't too hard to build up a bit of cash and ensure I had enough money to keep myself supplied with fuel and food. The stories are great. There is a lot of reading and a few times I had to look up the wiki to understand the background to things, but mostly it can be taken on its own. The plots do tend to reveal themselves in a piecemeal way (you learn a bit more every time you visit a port, for example) but I never found this annoying, only tantalising.

The game isn't perfect. I found the combat repetitive and not worth the time or fuel I spent unless I needed a particular item drop. I never upgraded to the final ship so it might be easier with that, but I didn't think the balance of ship weight was worth the compromise. The journal could also use a significant overhaul. If you leave the game for any length of time it can be very hard to remember what you're supposed to be doing, especially when you might be following a different story for each of your crew members. I would really like the addition of a note facility where I could leave myself notes about that sort of thing, or reminders that Item X is for sale in Port Y and I can sell those at Port Z for a profit, that sort of thing.

I especially like the soundtrack to the game. It's atmospheric and joyous and creepy in all the right places. It plays a significant part in my enjoyment of the game.

Failbetter Games have released a first look at the upcoming Zubmariner DLC, which I'm also looking forward to. Some people seem to think it'll add a huge amount of content to the game. I'm not sure it'll be as extensive as people think but it will be a cool addition.

I've jumped right back into the game with a new captain (retaining my Elegant Townhouse, several heirlooms, some stats and a big gun, courtesy of my previous captain's will) but I actually feel a bit sad about saying goodbye to my previous captain. Perhaps the first success stays with you or perhaps it's because playing on permadeath mode means that getting to the end genuinely is a significant achievement.

This incarnation I've decided not to choose one of the three main ambitions in the hopes that I can follow the call of the East, a hidden ambition which is meant to be incredibly difficult but the best of them all, story-wise. I can't wait.

Vojera

For anyone who's interested, Sunless Sea is free to play this weekend and 40% off on the store.

It's a small download so worth a try if you've been on the fence.

Vojera

Sunless Sea is in the current Humble Bundle (top tier, currently priced at $8.18): link.